ATP Tour officials will want to debate yet again the absurdities of the tournament calendar following the withdrawal of the world's two leading players on the opening day of a Masters Series event yesterday.

The world No1 Roger Federer and French Open champion Rafael Nadal both announced they were too exhausted to start in Hamburg after playing a five-hour final in Rome on Sunday. Federer had hinted as much almost immediately, but many thought Nadal would try for at least one more match, to surpass Guillermo Vilas' 53-match clay-court winning streak.

The rivals now have a fortnight in which to recover for the long road to the French Open final on June 11.